


stress is a killer

by littleberd



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Death, Keith regrets it, Voltron breaks, What Have I Done, angst angst angst angst angst angst angst, chopped onions shall see to it that even the heartless will not be spared, poor lance, so friggin sad, stressful situation, this is a terrible monster, what have I created, why did i do this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 04:50:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10209983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleberd/pseuds/littleberd
Summary: Lance had been trying to keep them together, trying to take care of everyone and not be underfoot, but by doing so he's been neglecting himself as well, and it can have deadly consequences.





	

Lance and Keith had been assigned to do a group battle simulation again after they flunked the last of several when they were put together, even in a group of five they would have to go through dozens of rounds until they passed it by the skin of their teeth. It was mainly because Lance and Keith's insults were more aimed at each other than their weapons at the enemies. But this one had been the worst out of all of them. Everyone had been keeping themselves busy doing something in an attempt at staying alive.

The 37th battle simulation in a row with only 3 minute breaks starting at 6 a.m. after an annoying, more than actually dire, 3 week long Galra ambushing special which had lasted a bit too long in everyone's opinion, leaving them all to run ragged. With the lack of sleep, and lingering agitation everyone was pretty fed up. But when Keith, Lance, and Hunk were battling the program for the 38th time Lance finally cracked from the stress. 

"THAT'S IT!! I QUIT!!!!" He yells, tossing his shield away and holstering his Bayard, sleep-deprivation made Hunk's focus hazy and Keith got lethally hit with a yelp, Hunk could only glance at where his teammate had been before he got shot in the side of his head, he too disappeared. Lance walked right up to the enemies and held his arms wide open welcoming the hit to his heart.

Once the simulation was over all quiznak broke out, Allura was shrieking like a banshee yanking stress-filled clumps of white hair from her head. Shiro's face was steaming with rage, his ears practically whistling like a tea kettle. Pidge looked like a creepy monster creature and was hiding behind a consul with the mice trying to avoid the space parent's wrath and kept shaking herself awake trying to keep her eyes open. Coran wheeled himself into the room and wheeled himself right back out not wanting to get involved in this new mess. Hunk had the pallor of a vampire, the eye-bags of a decrepit witch, and the drooling stuttering walk of the undead. Lance was stuck in front of the two yelling co-leaders, too tired to even wipe the flying spittle from his face, one eye twitching sporadically in rage and muscle spasming. Once they were done seething their hearts out Lance about-phased and walked out with the intent of sleep.

A red clad hand stopped him however.

"You can sleep when you're dead." Keith murmured murderously, violet eyes black from dilation and darkened from exhaustion.

"I'm dead on my feet, I'll rise from the grave tomorrow at a descent time in the afternoon," Lance growls back, trying and failing to shrug Keith's grip but he's not budging. In fact he slings Lance onto the couch, arm muscles running off of pure vexation.

"Don't you GET IT!!?? IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT YOU! Allura has been trying to evade Galra fleets for _days_ now. Pidge and Hunk have been working just as long, if not LONGER, to try and find out how the **fuck** they're tracking us now. Coran's hip gave out from keeping vigil over the sensors in case of **ANOTHER** surprise attack. Shiro and I have been running over strategies and sparring for _four days_ **STRAIGHT**. And all you've done is whine and fail at the group simulator! SO GET OFF YOUR ASS AND ACTUALLY FIND SOMETHING USEFUL TO DO BESIDES BRING THE TEAM DOWN TO YOUR PATHETIC LEVEL!!!!" Keith yells in Lance's face, noses practically touching.

Lance is **DONE**.

Hands shove Keith off with more strength than he thought himself capable in this moment, "I KNOW I'm pathetic! You don't have to shove it down my throat because you all have shoved it so far down it's coming out of my ass! I haven't just been _sitting_ on my ass, you ever notice the food you've been eating? Where do you think those little platters of mysteriously appearing meals came from asshole? It sure wasn't Hunk! He was busy with Pidge who has so much oil stains on her face she looks like a chimney sweep. Was it Allura? Oh no, her royal high-ass has been staring at the screens so long I think she's going to go blind. It wasn't Coran, because he's been _sitting_ in a chair since he stressed his hip so badly it nearly went out of his socket when it gave out. It wasn't the space mice who have been having headache's so bad they might have _fucking_ tumors in their brains. It wasn't our fearless leader who has locked himself with you behind a closed door when, we aren't doing the group simulation, without letting ANY of us getting a word in edge-wise, and it certainly wasn't the self-important, snobby dick-faced mullet-haired fuckboi in front of me who's barking up the wrong damn tree that's ALREADY BEEN BARKED AT ENOUGH!!!! I was going to let things slide, everyone's been reasonably stressed and sleep-deprived. I didn't really care that none of you guys asked me for any help, I figured seeing as I'm at such a PATHETIC level I couldn't possibly contribute, so I contributed what I could with all of you barring me out every time I so much as ATTEMPTED to be useful saying 'naw, Lance we don't need you mucking up the wires', 'sorry Lance but you can't help with the screen, I'm the only one who can connect to the ship and the mice are all the help I need', 'I'm not so old I can't stand here and watch over the monitors, my leg is just twitchy is all', 'You don't know the first thing about strategy, you'd probably leave us high and dry if a pretty face came along' and lastly 'find something useful to do besides bring the team down to your pathetic level.' So let me ask you this golden-boy!" Lance gets up and digs his pointer finger into Keith's chest so hard it stings himself, "DO YOU SEE A **TEAM** ANYWHERE AROUND HERE?!?!?! HUHN?!?!"

Keith's face is dark, he looks up and will regret what he says out of maliciousness even after death, "Not one you will ever belong to."

Lance's eyes hold both the swirling emotions of ultimate betrayal, hurt, and resignation. His blue orbs turn dull and hazy as blood slowly seeps from his nose, they roll in the back of his head and his body crumbles to the ground with a final resonating whump.

No one even had the energy to scream, Keith didn't move, staring at Lance's collapsed body as a nightmare has just come true.

*********************

When the next attack happened there was no resistance, the Galra stormed the castle only to find all the rebels on the ship as corpses with anguished stinking faces surrounding a cryosleep pod with another dead body inside, this one preserved in ice, the blue Paladin's eyes closed and looking for all the world like a boy sleeping with a small frown on his face. A red stream and tear frozen to his cheek and lips.


End file.
